1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of operating and apparatus for an electronic device having an optical display. This invention further relates to a method of operating and apparatus for positioning the optical display elements of an electronic device, such as a laptop computer or tablet PC, with the electronics and other component's of the electronic device
2. Statement of the Problem
Many electronic devices, such as laptops, tablet PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones, MP3 players, etc., have a glass LCD screen for displaying information to a user. For electronic devices, it is desirable that the devices be lightweight and small in size, especially for portable devices, where small sizes enable a user to carry and operate the device in many portable settings. Many currently available electronic devices, such as laptop computers and PDAs are unacceptably large, thick, heavy, or otherwise not ideal for portable use.
Electronic devices with LCD displays contain a light source, which generates light that is transmitted to the LCD glass screen, which selectively transmits the received light to display information processed by the device. It is known to optically couple the output of the light source to a diffuser that transmits the light to the LCD glass screen. Many prior art electronic devices have the optical components in an upper chamber and have a separate lower chamber which contains electrical circuit elements and other elements required by the electronic device for its operation, such as processors, memory, etc. This lower chamber is below the upper portion of the electronic device containing the optical elements such as the light source, the diffuser, the LCD screen and other optical elements of the electronic device.
LCD displays of electronic devices are known in which a single light source, together with a single diffuser, generates and transmits light to the LCD glass. It is also known to use a plurality of spaced apart light sources to provide light to the LCD glass. The use of multiple light sources may provide light of an improved quality to the LCD glass. Most prior art electronic devices locate the circuit elements required to operate the device in a separate chamber on the bottom of the computer. The use of a separate chamber to store these elements often results in an inefficient use of this bottom space. This inefficiency results in an electronic device that may be larger or thicker than necessary, and is inconvenient for portable use.
It can be seen in view of the above that prior art electronic devices with LCD displays often do not fulfill a user's needs and requirements with regard to weight, size, and volume.